Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 1042
| The promontory (promontorium) is a rounded hollow prominence, formed by the projection outward of the first turn of the cochlea; it is placed between the fenestræ, and is furrowed on its surface by small grooves, for the lodgement of branches of the tympanic plexus. A minute spicule of bone frequently connects the promontory to the pyramidal eminence. |
| The prominence of the facial canal (prominentia canalis facialis; prominence of aqueduct of Fallopius) indicates the position of the bony canal in which the facial nerve is contained; this canal traverses the labyrinthic wall of the tympanic cavity above the fenestra vestibuli, and behind that opening curves nearly vertically downward along the mastoid wall. |
| The mastoid or posterior wall (paries mastoidea) is wider above than below, and presents for examination the entrance to the tympanic antrum, the pyramidal eminence, and the fossa incudis. |
| The entrance to the antrum is a large irregular aperture, which leads backward from the epitympanic recess into a considerable air space, named the tympanic or mastoid antrum (see page 142). The antrum communicates behind and below with the mastoid air cells, which vary considerably in number, size, and form; the antrum and mastoid air cells are lined by mucous membrane, continuous with that lining the tympanic cavity. On the medial wall of the entrance to the antrum is a rounded eminence, situated above and behind the prominence of the facial canal; it corresponds with the position of the ampullated ends of the superior and lateral semicircular canals. |
| The pyramidal eminence (eminentia pyramidalis; pyramid) is situated immediately behind the fenestra vestibuli, and in front of the vertical portion of the facial canal; it is hollow, and contains the Stapedius muscle; its summit projects forward toward the fenestra vestibuli, and is pierced by a small aperture which transmits the tendon of the muscle. The cavity in the pyramidal eminence is prolonged downward and backward in front of the facial canal, and communicates with it by a minute aperture which transmits a twig from the facial nerve to the Stapedius muscle. |
| The fossa incudis is a small depression in the lower and back part of the epitympanic recess; it lodges the short crus of the incus. |
| The Carotid or Anterior Wall (paries carotica) is wider above than below; it corresponds with the carotid canal, from which it is separated by a thin plate of bone perforated by the tympanic branch of the internal carotid artery, and by the deep petrosal nerve which connects the sympathetic plexus on the internal carotid artery with the tympanic plexus on the promontory. At the upper part of the anterior wall are the orifice of the semicanal for the Tensor tympani muscle and the tympanic orifice of the auditory tube, separated from each other by a thin horizontal plate of bone, the septum canalis musculotubarii. These canals run from the tympanic cavity forward and downward to the retiring angle between the squama and the petrous portion of the temporal bone. |
| The semicanal for the Tensor tympani (semicanalis m. tensoris tympani) is the superior and the smaller of the two; it is cylindrical and lies beneath the tegmen tympani. It extends on to the labyrinthic wall of the tympanic cavity and ends immediately above the fenestra vestibuli. |
| The septum canalis musculotubarii (processus cochleariformis) passes backward below this semicanal, forming its lateral wall and floor; it expands above the anterior end of the fenestra vestibuli and terminates there by curving laterally so as to form a pulley over which the tendon of the muscle passes. |
| The auditory tube (tuba auditiva; Eustachian tube) is the channel through which the tympanic cavity communicates with the nasal part of the pharynx. Its length is about 36 mm., and its direction is downward, forward, and medialward, forming an angle of about 45 degrees with the sagittal plane and one of from 30 to 40 degrees |